Benfica to face Real... no its Ajax

Benfica have found out their round of 16 Champions League opponents in a weird day at UEFA headquarters that saw the draw take place twice due to an error during the first draw. UEFA voided the draw after mistakenly drawing Manchester United against their group opponents Villarreal and then failing to replace United once the initial error was corrected.

Benfica drew Spanish giants Real Madrid in the initial draw but the redo saw them paired up with Dutch club Ajax in a clash that will pit two of Europe's former giants. Benfica will host the first leg of the encounter at the Estadio da Luz on February 23 and then travel to Amsterdam for the second leg on March 15. The two clubs face off for the first time since the 2018/19 Champions League group stage.

Benfica raking in the dough in Champions League

Benfica's win over Dynamo Kiev earlier this week and the clinching of a spot in the Champions League round of 16 sees the club near an all time high for earnings in the UEFA competition. Benfica have earned €54.3M to date in the competition, only surpassed by the €56.8M during the 2018/19 campaign which was the first season of the competitions new revenue sharing plan.

Benfica could add an additional €10.6M if the club is to advance past the round of 16 to the quarter-final stage. The current earnings do not include TV revenue which is awarded at the conclusion of the season based on the value of Portugal's TV market and shared between Benfica, Sporting and FC Porto who were all participants in the group stage portion.

Benfica win to advance to round of 16 in Champions League

Benfica did their part and got a some help to advance to the Champions League round of 16 for the first time since the 2016/17 edition of the tournament. Benfica scored a pair early goals in the first 22 minutes of the game and held on to defeat Dynamo Kiev 2-0. Across the continent in Munich, Bayern provided the assist that the Lisbon club needed when they defeated Barcelona 3-0, moving Benfica one point ahead of the Spanish side and into the knockout stages.

Benfica will earn an additional €9.6M for advancing out of the group stage and into the final 16, they will be joined by Sporting who also advanced as group runners up. Benfica will find out their opponents in February on Monday December 13 when the UEFA draw takes place. Benfica will avoid German giants Bayern Munich but that still leaves one of the following seven, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, Lille and Ajax as the clubs next opponents.